Accelerometers have been utilized in electronic devices (e.g. a personal computer (PC)) to achieve various functions. For example, an accelerometer may be used to quick park a hard drive if it senses that the machine is in free fall (e.g. upon a laptop PC being dropped by a user).
In addition to sensing free fall of a device, accelerometers can be utilized to ascertain many things related to the physical status of the device. For example, an accelerometer can be utilized to ascertain that the machine is tilted. Among the uses for accelerometers in this regard include upon determining that the device had been rotated 90 degrees, the accelerometer indicates such a tilt, therefore allowing the device to re-map the display so that the display is upright (i.e. the display is rotated 90 degrees as well). Thus, even with the device in such an orientation, a user can, e.g. read text displayed on the screen.
Others have implemented computer programs (e.g. software) such that upon a determination that the device has been physically tapped, the accelerometer can ascertain that the device had been tapped in a particular sequence. The program would allow tap sequences thus sensed to indicate different inputs (e.g. utilize the ascertained taps as a communication means). For example, if a user taps the device twice, the device does one thing (e.g. executes some function); if a user taps the device three times, the device does another thing (e.g. executes another function). This amounts to a sort of Morse code to the machine as sensed through the accelerometer. However, a significant drawback to such tap sequencing is that the device is not enabled, via the accelerometer or any other known means, to determine where upon the device that the user has tapped.
Accordingly, a need has arisen to address the shortcomings associated with the conventional arrangements discussed above.